Stop the bullshit. Quit the Blamegame. People are suffering.

Power cuts in Gaza as EU halts aid

(swiped from Al-Jazeera)

Gazans have been suffering a fourth day of power outages as the European Union considers whether to resume financing fuel deliveries to the territory. The only power plant in the Gaza Strip shut down completely on Sunday after the EU suspended payments because of what it said were "security concerns".

On Monday, many businesses were operating using generators and candles were disappearing from shop shelves. "Our life is becoming more and more difficult," Umm Jaber, a 40-year-old mother of six in Gaza City, said.

"They've closed the borders, they've cut jobs. Today they've cut the electricity, tomorrow they'll cut the air for us."The power shortages began late on Friday, when the power station closed three of its four generators because diesel supplies had dwindled after Israel shut the Nahal Oz border crossing preventing deliveries.Israel reopened the crossing on Sunday, but Dor Alon, the private Israeli energy company that deliveries the fuel, was told by the EU that it could not guarantee they would receive payment if they supplied the plant. "We are just going to assess the situation and we hope to resume the supplies as soon as we can," Antonia Mochan, a European Commission spokeswoman, said on Sunday.

The EU provides the funding under a temporary system set up to prevent directly financing the Hamas movement which took full control of the Gaza Strip after clashes with security forces loyal to the Palestinian president two months ago. Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip and members of the government set-up by Mahmoud Abbas, the president, after he dismissed the Hamas-led unity cabinet, have blamed each other for the problem. "We warned for weeks that Gaza would fall into darkness if Hamas does not stop occupying the electricity company and does not stop holding on to millions of shekels that they collected from the people of Gaza," Riyad al-Malki, information minister in the Ramallah-based government, said.

In Gaza, Hamas's parliamentary bloc said that Abbas's government headed by prime minister Salam Fayyad, which it refuses to recognise, was to blame.'Criminal cut'"President Abbas and the Fayyad government are responsible for this criminal cut in electricity," it said in a statement. "This decision is inhumane and could badly affect the Palestinian nation."

Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said that Gazans were fed up with the "blame game"."The ordinary resident in Gaza is blaming everyone for this crisis, they don't care who has caused this power outage, they just want it fixed," she said."This really is a problem that effects every detail of daily life, and it is already hard enough living in the Gaza Strip, imagine living with no electricity." The power station produces between 25 and 30 per cent of the electricity in Gaza, according to the EU. Israel and Egypt provide the rest of the territory's needs.

Shut the fuck up award: Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado

(courtesy of IowaPolitics.com)

Tancredo says threat of attack on holy sites would deter terrorism
7/31/2007

By Chris Dorsey
IowaPolitics.com

OSCEOLA -- Followers of radical Islam must be deterred from committing a nuclear attack on U.S. soil, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo said Tuesday morning, saying that as president he would take drastic measures to prevent such attacks.

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," the GOP presidential candidate said. "That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent or you will find an attack. There is no other way around it. There have to be negative consequences for the actions they take. That's the most negative I can think of."

• Listen to Tancredo discuss his plan

The harsh approach is vital in order to prevent a worldwide collapse, Tancredo told nearly 30 people Tuesday morning at the Family Table restaurant. "Beyond the loss of human life and devastation, it would cause a worldwide economic collapse," Tancredo said of a nuclear attack on U.S soil. "If all of a sudden we are not a consuming engine of the world, the producing nations will collapse also. That is what they want, that is what they are looking for, to end Western civilization as we know it."

Tancredo said there was no such deterrent in place right now.

"The president and this country better figure out exactly what it can do to deter, I underline deter, the next attack," Tancredo said. "Deter, not just respond, deter, or else I assure you we are going to suffer. The extent of which of course I do not know. I know what they are planning and I know what they want. I do not know if they are going to be capable of doing this tomorrow, the next day or a month from now. I know right now at this moment there is nothing that deters them."

You folks who care, better contact Tom and tell him to leave his post. Or else think differently.

Fuck Bush. I ain't afraid to say it.

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I just finished a Cabinet meeting. One of the things we discussed was the terrible situation there in Minneapolis. We talked about the fact that the bridge collapsed, and that we in the federal government must respond and respond robustly to help the people there not only recover, but to make sure that lifeline of activity, that bridge, gets rebuilt as quickly as possible.

To that end, Secretary Peters is in Minneapolis, as well as Federal Highway Administrator Capka. I spoke to Governor Pawlenty and Mayor Rybak this morning. I told them that the Secretary would be there. I told them we would help with rescue efforts, but I also told them how much we are in prayer for those who suffered. And I thank my fellow citizens for holding up those who are suffering right now in prayer.

We also talked about -- in the Cabinet meeting talked about the status of important pieces of legislation before the Congress. We spent a fair amount of time talking about the fact that how disappointed we are that Congress hasn't sent any spending bills to my desk. By the end of this week, members are going to be leaving for their month-long August recess. And by the time they will return, there will be less than a month before the end of the fiscal year on September the 30th, and yet they haven't passed one of the 12 spending bills that they're required to pass. If Congress doesn't pass the spending bills by the end of the fiscal year, Cabinet Secretaries report that their departments may be unable to move forward with urgent priorities for our country.

This doesn't have to be this way. The Democrats won last year's election fair and square, and now they control the calendar for bringing up bills in Congress. They need to pass each of these spending bills individually, on time, and in a fiscally responsible way.

The budget I've sent to Congress fully funds America's priorities. It increases discretionary spending by 6.9 percent. My Cabinet Secretaries assure me that this is adequate to meet the needs of our nation.

Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress want to spend far more. Their budget calls for nearly $22 billion more in discretionary spending next year alone. These leaders have tried to downplay that figure. Yesterday one called this increase -- and I quote -- "a very small difference" from what I proposed. Only in Washington can $22 billion be called a very small difference. And that difference will keep getting bigger. Over the next five years it will total nearly $205 billion in additional discretionary spending. That $205 billion averages out to about $112 million per day, $4.7 million per hour, $78,000 per minute.

Put another way, that's about $1,300 in higher spending every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year for the next five years. That's a lot of money -- even for career politicians in Washington. In fact, at that pace, Democrats in Congress would have spent an extra $300,000 since I began these remarks.

There's only one way to pay for all this new federal spending without running up the deficit, and that is to raise your taxes. A massive tax hike is the last thing the American people need. The plan I put forward would keep your taxes low and balance the budget within five years, and that is the right path for our country.

I want to thank OMB Director Rob Portman for his hard work in developing this plan. This was Rob's last Cabinet meeting. Laura and I wish him and his family well. And I call on the Senate to confirm his successor, Jim Nussle, so we can work together to keep our government running, to keep our economy growing, and to keep our nation strong.

Thank you for your time.

Why doesn't America go for third parties again?